#Wendy Mass

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[glaobobotalrynn]

Ayo shoutout to fairytale retellings that are written for actual preteens/young teens, here are some of my favorites;

Note note: These ones specifically are all appropriate for young audiences, say a hyperlexic little girl with ADHD who had The Hunger Games given to her in 3rd grade because her teacher couldn't keep up with her thirst for pages (just a nonspecific lil example :D) so if you're a parent or teacher reading this post I hope this helps!

Land of Stories by Chris Colfer- of course. What's not to love? I mean I lost a little steam in the last book (there's six) but heyyyy the first one can be read alone and then if you want more lore you can keep going if you wanna.

East by Edith Pattou- Ok fine, our main girl is giving a little bit of not-like-other-girls (Purple eyes? really?) but it's such a fun fucking reread, I feel like some of my superstitious things are validated when I do read it. East of the Sun and West of the Moon hasn't been retold to death so this is awesome.

Twice Upon a Time; Rapunzel, the One with All the Hair by Wendy Mass- Mouthful of a title but I STILL think back to this one all the time and laugh. It's short, it's cute, it's funny, they make the prince and Rapunzel into more normal kids, this one is a great light read. The other ones in the series are probably just as good.

Oh yeah forgot to mention these other books are THICK.

Just Ella by Margaret Peterson Haddix- I've been rereading this one since I was small and I still notice new things every time I read it. I'm so mad I marked up my copy because I have a gorgeous one from before they ruined the cover with modern art. If you look it up, I have the one where it's like half peeled back to show Ella as a peasant. Also a skinny book.

Ever After High's book series, mostly written by Shannon Hale- Did y'all know EAH had books when we were younger? Hale is one of my favorite authors, I ate these UP once I got my hands on all of them. Princess Academy was one of my favorites as a kid so finding these when I was like 11-12 was GREAT. They're long enough to keep me busy and super engaging. Ya gotta know- Briar's my favorite character in the books. Closely followed by Cedar.

Hale's Rapunzel's Revenge is SUPER good too. Graphic Novel. I'm a very huge Hale fan.

I can't think of any others right now but if I do I'll reblog and tack them on!

[stormyrainyday]

i read the willow falls series when i was 11 and was never the same about birthdays since

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Title: Every Soul a Star | Author: Wendy Mass | Publisher: Little, Brown Books (2008)

[wonkasposition]

Not quite finished Logan sweet doodle

[books-to-add-to-your-tbr]

Title: The Candymakers

Author: Wendy Mass

Series or standalone: series

Publication year: 2010

Genres: fiction, mystery, fantasy, adventure, contemporary

Blurb: Four children have been chosen to compete in a national competition to find the tastiest confection in the country. Who will invent a candy more delicious than the Oozing Crunchorama or the Neon Lightning Chew - Logan, the Candymaker’s son, who can detect the colour of chocolate by touch alone; Miles, the boy who is allergic to merry-go-rounds and the colour pink; Daisy, the cheerful girl who can lift a fifty-pound lump of taffy like it’s a feather; or Philip, the suit-and-tie-wearing boy who’s always scribbling in a secret notebook?

[something-overnothing]

"A fight is going on inside me," said an old man to his son. "It is a terrible fight between two wolves. One wolf is evil. He is anger, envy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego. The other wolf is good. he is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion, and faith. The same fight is going on inside you."

The son thought about it for a minute and then asked, "Which wolf will win?"

The old man replied simply, "The one you feed."

Wendy Mass, Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life

[quinnsqueries]

Why Everyone Should Read "A Mango Shaped Space"

Wendy Mass was the first author I ever truly loved. Believe it or not, it took me until the ripe age of ten years old to truly love reading. And I remember the first book that actually got me hooked, and no it wasn't Mango, it was, however, by Wendy Mass. And, in classic little kid style, it was part of a series of books and I read them backwards.

And, I really just want to congratulate Wendy Mass on her writing abilities. She made me laugh, squeal and cry in one whole night. Three hours, to be exact, as that is how long it took me to read the whole book. And, well, it'd been a long time since I read it, so I didn't remember too much about the book, and what I did remember was the most tragic event in the book, the premise, and that the main character saw her grandfather in her kitten.

And, well, even though I knew what happened, I knew the tragic event was, well, tragic...it still didn't prepare me for it enough because I sobbed like a baby when it happened. I don't want to say what happened because, spoilers, but like, jesus christ, I cried. And I don't do that very often with books these days.

Anyway, I really recommend reading A Mango Shaped Space if you haven't, because I saw myself in the main character. Now, I don't have synesthesia, but I still saw myself in Mia, and maybe you will too. If you don't want spoilers for the book, then I suggest you stop reading here. If you don't mind it, if you need more convincing, then read along!

My first though when rereading this book was: Wow, Mia, you and I are so alike, I can't do math either. My second thought was, wow, Mia has anxiety. The opening scene is our protagonist, Mia, trying to solve a math problem and failing. She's never been good at math and she says it's because of the colors she sees and how it just doesn't work correctly when she tries to do math.

Mia was in front of the class trying to solve a math problem, and since she's not good at math, she's trying to stall for time, so she attempts to solve the problem while putting all the numbers in the "correct" color. Except, other people don't see the world as colorfully as Mia, and this ends up with her in the principals office realizing that maybe she's different and that it's not a good thing. This ultimately ends up with Mia trying to hide how different she is.

Now let's pause here for a moment. This scene not only builds up the entire plot of the book, but also reminds me of a lot of different things. Whenever someone thinks there might be something wrong with them, it can often be overlooked. With Mia it was her synesthesia, but with other people it can be so many different things. Autism, ADHD, depression...

I think this book is coded for neurodivergency, whether Wendy Mass meant it or not, and honestly, that means so much for me. And I'll further explain why I felt that way as I reveal more of the story, but for now, just trust me on this one.

The next scene sets up Mia's life as it currently is. We meet her best friend Jenna, her mom and dad, and her little brother Zack. And let me tell you: this family is weird and I love it. Wendy Mass built the characters so realistically, she legit brought them to life. Her little brother is obsessed with superstitions and has kept track of every single McDonalds burger he's ever eaten. Her older sister basically never touched grass in her life and then spends a summer in California and is obsessed with all of these nature-y spirity things. Her mom is very clean and horrible with dealing with emotions. She used to be a science teacher and loves astronomy. Her dad is the more sensitive parent (which like? Hello! We never get that!) He's constantly building and expanding their house, which is something he'd battle with his dad against until he died. He flies a hellicopter!

And then there's Mia. Who, like me, sucks at math, is okay with english and history, and is super artistic. She gets overwhelmed by a lot of noise, which the first time we see this happen, is when her brother turns up all of her clocks so when it strikes 5pm they'll all go off. It's super loud and overwhelming and Mia can't see straight. I get that way too, and the way Wendy Mass writes is super relatable.

If I had been prepared, I would have been able to anticipate the onslaught, but now it is overwhelming and I feel like I'm suffocating.

I get this way too! When things are too loud, if there's too many people around me, etc, I can't breathe, which Mass depicts, too. Mia has to crouch on the floor just so she can breathe. And then when the noise goes away, which causes the colors to go away, she can breathe again. This is a realistic depiction of anxiety, and while this is due to Mia's synesthesia, I think a lot of people can relate to how Mia is feeling in this moment.

Mia is then, understandably, afraid of hearing too many sounds, but when she takes control of the noise, like putting on music, then she's perfectly fine with it. Here's another quote from the book which just resonated with me.

All of them, belonging, at that minute, only to me.

This quote is in relation to the colors, but really just accurately depicts how when we have control of things, you really just feel at peace. And since it's preceded by such a powerful scene of feeling out of control, I think this sentence is just kinda perfect.

Another powerful scene is when Mia meets another kid like her. His name is Billy and he's five years old. Mia meets him at a supermarket and at first she doesn't realize that he's like him, but when she's does she's shocked. And, reasonably, scared and confused. This pushes the plot forward, and the next big scene is Mia coming clean to her parents. But first, just another quote that made me scream.

These visits are hard for her, no matter what she says. Or doesn't say. I hurry back to the house thinking of all the things we keep from other people. Even our best friends.

This quote sums up so much of the book, and it comes so early on. Mia's been keeping her synesthesia to herself for years, and it causes so many problems. It makes her feel isolated, which in turn, when she finds out that there are other people like her, makes her go crazy. She hyperfixates and loses track of whats right in front of her. Wendy Mass depicts what life is all about, depicts something that can really happen to anyone, depending on how isolated they feel. And it doesn't have to just be with synesthesia, it can be with anything! And that is what I loved about this book more.

If you haven't been convinced to keep reading, well...we're only on page 50.

So, like I said, the next big scene is Mia telling her parents that she has synesthesia, though she doesn't yet know the name for her condition. Beforehand, she's talking about why certain things, like math and languages are hard for her, because, no matter what she tries, they don't make sense.

When she tells her parents about the colors, they reasonably freak out. They argue back and forth about how it's their fault she's this way, the mom tries reason it with Mia having just memorized the colors because of the blocks she played with as a kid, and then they decide to set up a doctors appointment. All they want to do is fix Mia.

Also, I just want to point out, at this point, that even insignificant characters, like the history teacher in this book have such stunning quirks. The history teacher is a germaphobe and when Mia gets called down to be picked up, she doesn't know what it's for and her instant reaction is "did I put my history homework in the wrong pile?"

And, if I haven't given you enough quotes, heres another one that resonates with me.

At that point I would rather have been called anything but crazy. It's one thing for me to call myself crazy. It is another thing entirely when a doctor does it.

At this point in the book Mia has been referred to a therapist, or that's at least what they call her. Who, by the way, assumes Mia's making this up. And Mia thinks that because she's been referred to a therapist the doctor is calling her crazy, which, I don't entirely think he was. He just wasn't sure what to do about her condition since he doesn't specialize in that field.

Anything, the next thing we know, Mia tells her best friend about synesthesia and she gets upset. Previously in the book we learned Jenna's mom died when she was young and it had such an impact on her, which is why she's scared that Mia had been hiding such a big part of her life from her. She doesn't understand what is going on with Mia, and she seems like she might be sick at this point in the book, since nobody knows what synesthesia is. So, they have a fight because Jenna is scared that her best friend might die, even if she doesn't say it out loud, we can tell.

Mia then meets the therapist and gets referred to a neurologist, who, when Mia and her mom meet in person, then tells her what synesthesia is, since he specializes in it. He then says they can meet again sometime, sends Mia off with a website, and she's reasonably happy. She then spends the later half of the book hyper fixating on her new terminology, learning more about synesthesia, and making a new friend through the website. All the while ignoring what she has in real life. She distances herself from Jenna, who she finally made up with, and the rest of her friends. She ignores her schoolwork, and even does acupuncture because she read online that it really brings out her colors.

Now, at this point, I think it's only fair to bring up the cat, Mango. The namesake of the book. Mia first met Mango after her grandfather died, and she reminded her of him because they had the same eyes. She believes a part of her grandfather lives on through Mango, which softened her grandfathers death. But, the thing is, Mango, despite being fairly young, is dying, which is hinted at through the book. Mango has a lung condition and takes medicine for it.

During a meetup of people with synesthesia Mia has her first kiss and it's the best night of her life. And then, once she gets home, she realizes that Mango is missing. He'd gotten trapped outside. Mia brings him inside but something isn't right. Mango is dying and the roads are flooded. They try to take him to the vet via helicopter, but he dies on the way. And Mia is blaming herself for it. She thinks she hadn't been paying enough attention to Mango, and because of that he died.

My eyes open wide, and the pain hits me in thick black waves. Then I scream loud enough to wake the dead. Only it doesn't.

This quote was what made the tear-gates flood. Mia is grieving and hard. And during the next couple of chapters there are so many raw quotes, things like "I wish the ice would go right through me and take the pain away." Because Mia just lost her best friend, and she doesn't know how to cope. And also, her colors are gone, because it's a traumatic experience and apparently that happens.

And, also, it's Jenna's birthday party that day, and Mia just feels stuck in bed. And Jenna is blaming the synesthesia get-together for Mia being absent to being early for setting up. This gets resolved quickly by Mia's mom calling Jenna and explaining that Mango died, but this further shows us that Mia really had been neglecting everything in favor of researching/being hyper-fixated on her diagnosis. On her explanation of why she is the way she is.

The book then comes to a close with Mia finding Billy, whom she had been searching for in hopes of helping him and his family learn more about who he is and what he has, and with Mia reconnecting with her loved ones. And really, they ended it even softer with finding Mango's children, because he'd been courting another cat. Jenna's cat.

And well, I just really loved this book. So, please, please read it and tell me your thoughts. Did you also find that it's coded in nuerodivergency and other mental health issues?

[cloudyzues]

Book recommendation

My next book recommendation is Every Soul a Star. (Summary): Every Soul a Star is a welcoming story of three teens who you wouldn't expect to be friends. Growing up in the middle of nowhere is no problem for the enthusiastic teen named Ally. Since she grew up there and spent her whole life upon its breaches, and she does have a problem with leaving it all behind.

I would rate this 4/5.

[blogthefiresidechats]

Latest haul!

I made another visit to my local book store and you’ll be able to see what I purchased below. I’ve come to realize this year that reading books and purchasing books are two completely different hobbies of mine. With as many books that I have in my collection at the moment, I’m surprised that people aren’t stopping by my house thinking that another branch has opened up that’s apart of the city…

[missams53]

March 2024 Wrap-up

Hello everyone: I am writing to you in Texas! I made a last-minute decision last month to go. Seeing totality has been on my bucket list since I read Every Soul a Star by Wendy Mass when I was 19. I have always wanted to see totality. I didn’t go to Oregon because I could not afford it then. It is unbelievable; looking back, I believe I could have made it. But I was being responsible, and now I…

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[thefroggybazaar]

does the book ever start hitting so good you're about to get violent

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The Lost Library

Children’s book about secrets, community and libraries I received a copy of this book courtesy of the publisher. Image is of “The Lost Library” by Rebecca Stead and Wendy Mass. The eBook cover is of a street library with open doors. Behind the doors is are shelves with a young boy and a ghostly building. Sitting on top of the library is a ginger cat and some mice. “The Lost Library” by Rebecca…

[pumpkin-knots]

The first time I heard about synesthesia was from a book I read in 6th grade called *A Mango Shaped Space* by Wendy Mass that people kept saying made them cry because a cat died at the end of it. I didn't like the book from a plot standpoint, but also, because the book represents the main character's synesthesia as so visual and that was the only context I had heard of synesthesia in, I did not realize that my associating (but not literally seeing) certain letters and numbers and words with colors was also a form of synesthesia.

All this to say, 4 is purple. Prove me wrong.

[vulpixbookpix]

Lo & Behold by Wendy Mass and Gabi Mendez

4 out of 5 stars

The book starts with Addie and her parents secretly planting a tree behind their apartment that she had won in class. We see the family taking photos by the tree as it grows until her mother had to have major surgery and "things went downhill slowly" until they stopped taking yearly pictures by the tree. Something happens to her mom to where she's no longer in the picture--literally. Addie knows her dad tries hard to cheer her up, but it's hard. Even when he tells her that they're going to a summer job miles away so he can help work on a Virtual Reality project at a college.

Addie is very hesitant to enjoy anything at the college, even when she realizes that a kid her age lives across the hall in another apartment and he seems kinda cool? Slowly, about the speed of a tortoise, Addie makes friends with the other kid, starts exploring and having a good time. They also become testers for the Virtual Reality projects that her dad is helping with and discover a way to give back to the community.

I really enjoyed this book. It deals with some pretty heavy issues that seem to be just glossed over at first, but as we see Addie with her character arc of growth, we see these issues become more visible. Addie avoids the subjects less as she works with the VR group and is able to confront her worries and fears. I think this book did it in a great way. We also see that other people are dealing with heavy problems as well and how they're attempting to cope. It's a good read on how to deal with grief and when bad things happen.